Athletics: The adventures of Jacko Gill

Jacko Gill. Photo / Getty

If Jacko Gill's maiden European season has confirmed two things, it's that he's really good at shot put and mediocre at being resourceful.

The rising New Zealand putter has been, just like any teenager when they leave home, finding his feet in unfamiliar territory, all the while preparing for this month's World Athletics Championships.

Some things have worked out well.

Gill will enter the event in London, pretty much injury free, as a tear in his groin has all but fully healed.

"It's the first time I've been able to compete a few times before a major event in years. I've had five competitions in Europe and so am feeling really prepared and really good"

"My adductor will always be quite weak so it's something that I'm going to have to dedicate time to strengthen in the gym"

It's a far cry from the Rio Olympics, where Gill boldly battled through a broken foot and finished ninth in the overall standings.

He'll compete in an incredibly stacked field in London, as American Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs as well as Kiwi Tom Walsh will likely fight it out for the order of one-two-three on the podium.

"The standard of shot put has gone up incredibly this year. It's been a long time since someone has consistently thrown over 22 metres and in 2017 there have been close to three of four guys that have done that."

Now, remember when I said some things worked out well for Gill, here is the thing that didn't.

Moving from track and field meet to track and field meet, hotel to hotel, Gill was underwhelmed by not only the size, but the price of food offered to a growing young man.

So, as any ingenious Kiwi would, New Zealand's number two shot putter took matters into his own hands.

What follows next is a brilliant blend of "Bear Grylls' Man vs Wild" and "Mr Bean".

"It was 17 Euros at the hotel for one meal and I reckoned I could save some money, so I bought a hot plate and some food from the local supermarket. I had the hot plate in my room and started cooking a pizza and after I was done I put the hot plate on the carpet while it was still hot. So I ended up burning a round plate on the carpet."

"They told me I couldn't cook in the room anymore so then I bought a BBQ and cooked on the balcony. However I burnt a couple of holes in my t-shirts when I was using them as an oven mit. So I'm now down to two t-shirts for the event and have to wash them almost daily."

Thankfully, Gill's sense of hunger has switched to success this week, setting himself the goal of making the finals in the men's shot put, with qualifying under on Saturday morning (NZT).

"I'm looking for a top 12, then top eight finish and see what I can do from there. If I can get over 21 metres I'll be very happy... I'm in this game for the long haul, I have a plan and I want to be good when I'm old, I plan to peak when I'm 28, not when I'm 22."